The Evolution of Slot Machines

Author By Jacob Atkinson  Jul 1, 2019
The Evolution of Slot Machines July 1, 2019" July 1, 2019 Jacob Atkinson https://www.sosgame.com/author/jacob

Evolution of the Slot MachineLooking back at the very first slot machines that were invented many, many years ago, it is easy to see why they did become very popular, and whilst very basic in their design, today’s modern all singing and dancing slots do have lot of similarities with those mechanical slot machines that took the world by storm.

In days gone by slot players would simply have to insert a coin, pull the handle on the side of a slot machine and then hope and prey that they lined up a matching set of fruit related reel symbols on the one single pay-line, for that would then see them receiving a winning pay-out.

You are still going to find plenty of online, mobile and land based slot machines that still have a very similar playing format and structure to the very first slot machines that were invented, those being three reeled slots on which just one pay-line can be put into live play.

Those slots by the way are known as Classic Slot Machines, and whilst they are now completely electronic devices which use random number generator to determine the outcome of each spin, they do offer players a no-nonsense type of playing experience.

In fact, when playing Classic slots these days players will find that they can wagers more than one coin on the one single pay-line, and the more coins they wager per spin the bigger and higher in value the winning pay-outs will become.

3 Reel Slots and Wild Symbols Get Introduced

liberty bell slot machineThe only problem from a players point of view about playing the Classic Slot machines described above, is that they offered a very basic yet rapid fire type of slot playing experience, and as slot machines began to take off in popularity, slot designers started to look at ways of making those basic playing slots a tad more exciting to play.

One special reel symbol that first started to appear on several different slot machines were Wild symbols, and whenever one or more Wild symbols were spun in, they would stand in for all other reel symbols, and therefore could help players form plenty of additional winning combinations.

It was also found that by adding more pay-lines to Classic Slot machines, the operators of those machines could make more money, and give players a much more exciting type of playing experience too.

As such 3 Reel Slots started to appear in many land-based venues not long after Classic Slot machines did, and those slots offered players the chance of activated three or even five pay-lines per spin.

Obviously the higher in number the pay-lines a player did go on to activate the more chances they then had of forming more winning combinations.

Such slots are famed for the way that the jackpot pay-out gets higher in value and is often boosted in value by more coins when players line up the winning combination on the highest numbered pay-line.

That unique pay-out structure then somewhat forced players to wager the maximum number of pay-lines per spin to have the chance of winning much more than they ever could do when only activating one single pay-line.

Fruit Machine Flood the Marketplace

Over in the UK, a new gambling act came into force in 1968 which allowed gambling to take place in many different venues, and as such one type of gaming machine became very popular in pubs, cafes and amusement arcades and those gaming machines were known as fruit machines.

fruit machinesWhat they offered players were lots of entertainment value, and the early fruit machines came with features such as nudges that would allow players to nudge reel downwards to hopefully help them form a winning combinations, and holds would also be on offer on fruit machines that would allow players to hold any reels into place for the very next spin.

However, as the years ticked by and fruit machines became electronic machines as opposed to both mechanical and electro-mechanic machines, that saw even more bonus features and bonus games being attached and on offer on those types of slot machines.

Nowadays, players of fruit machines are going to find dozens of different bonus games and bonus features attached to them including bonus boards, cash ladder and a plethora of other unique features, all of which do tend to add plenty of entertainment value to fruit machine playing sessions.

Progressive Slot Machines Make an Appearance

The one reason why slot players do enjoy playing any type of slot machine, is that on any spin they could of course win a huge valued jackpot, however there are some slot machines that have been invented and launched over the years that offer a life changing jackpot to players.

progressive slot machinesThose types of slot machines are known as progressive jackpot slots, and when playing them players have a chance of winning a massive jackpot which is going to keep on rising in value until a player wins the jackpot.

However, the way in which most standard progressive slot games have been designed is such that a small percentage of each players stakes are used to feed the jackpot pools, and they are linked across a large network of slot machines too which could be located in several different casinos, both land based casinos and online casinos too.

In fact, may mobile casinos site do offer their customers a range of progressive slot machines, and as such if you do fancy trying you luck at winning what could turn out to be a life changing jackpot, then there is no doubt in my mind it should be progressive slots that you are very eager to play.

Just so you know, progressive jackpots are attached to Classical slots, 3 Reel slots and also Video slot games, so not matter which type and category of slot machines you do enjoy playing the most you will often find plenty of them that offer one or even more than one progressive jackpot to players.

Video Slots Go Live Next

Unfortunately, there were lots of slot machines cheats doing the rounds in the early days, and as such it was quite easy for some slot cheats to manipulate and scam the older styled classical and three-reel slot machines.

video slot machinesAs such designers and slot game developers were very eager to discover ways in which they could design a brand-new type of slot which did away with the need for mechanical and electro-mechanical reels, to keep their gaming machines safe and secure.

It was thanks to the launch of what are known as video slots that many slot machine designers were able to make their games much more secure, for those slot machines do not have the older type of reels attached to them, but instead they have a video screen on which the reels are superimposed.

In fact, thanks to the use of a video screen slot game designers were able to launch a range of video slots as they became known on which a range of bonus games and bonus features and many more pay-lines could be attached, and they could also introduce on screen animations and some much better sound effects to those types of slot games too.

Video slots really did hit the mark with slot players, and these days no matter at which casino you visit or play at either online or via your mobile phones or tablet device, you are going to find the biggest section of slot machines are video slots.

Skill Based Slot Games Prove Popular

As you can see from above, over the many years that slot machines have been available, they have naturally evolved and have been developed, however they are constantly changing regarding the playing structures and features along with the bonus games that they can offer players.

One of the very latest innovations that has hit the slot machine gaming industry is the introduction of what are known as skill-based slot machines.

Those are a brand new range of gaming machines that may for example offer players the chance of triggering a bonus game which is true skill based, and as such the way the player plays off that bonus game will determine just how much they can stand to win from it.

In fact, some slot machines now are completely skill based and as such you could end up playing a gaming machines that is themed and based around a classic video game such as Pacman or Space Invaders, on which you skill and abilities at playing that game will determine whether you win or not.

Slot machines are however always going to be evolving, and with brand new 3D and 4D slot machines being introduced by many slot machine designers, and slots offering surround sounds and even interactive chairs in front of them, players really are going to find some of the very latest slot machine releases very exciting to play and completely enveloping slot games to play too, no matter where or when they choose to play them.

Author

Hi, I'm Jacob Atkinson, the brains (as I like to call myself) behind the SOS Game website, and I would like to introduce myself to you to give you an insight into why I have decided the time was right to launch this website, and my plans for...

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